Sustainability by Microtechnology

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• Innovation Panel 2008
• Florianópolis
• Rheinische Fachhochschule Köln
• Günter Wagner

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Sustainability by Microtechnology
.....what a lovely place.....
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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• General Situation
• All people want to get better life
• (Natural) resources are decreasing dramatically
• Prices for energy are increasing dramatically
• Global financial situation is very precarious

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• REALITY (actual)
• Middle- and Long-Term needs are not well met by
  current developments
• Prices of the products often are not adaquate
• Valuable resources are wasted
• Faster, cheaper, more mindset
• Social / environment implications often are not
  subject of serious dicussions

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• Sustainability as
• intersection of social, environmental, and
  economical aspects

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• Can just Microtechnolgy contribute?

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• Microtechnology
• Microelectronics stands for
• High density high functionality - spare space
  consumption
• Complex functions, machine intelligence,
  long-life systems
• Low cost solutions (more often than not)
• Low power consumption
• Microsystems (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems)
• Microfluidics (fluid dynamics)
• RF-MEMS (low noise switching)
• Sensors (transducers whatsoever to
  electronics))
• Actuators (transducers electronics to whatsoever)
• Mainly based on Silicon with (very) small
  dimensions

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• Application fields
• Industrial
• Automotive
• Environmental
• Biomedical
• Safety
• Comfort
• Household
• Energy generation

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• Sustainability ?
• How just microtechnology can bring forward
  sustainability ?

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• Desirable Properties
• Reliability
• Integrated intelligence
• Low energy consumption
• Reduction of maintenance
• Better and simpler handling
• No environmental impact

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• How Microtechnology can contribute ?
• Embedded Systems
• High reliability
• Integrated intelligence
• Low energy consumption
• Low space consumption
• Low environment consumption
• Diminutive input sizes
• Simpler maintenance
• Fast development while using mature design tools
• Lower cost at high integration
• Reuse of approved solutions

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• Virtual Water (water needed to produce s.th.)?
• (source John Anthony Allan, London
  KingsCollege, 1993)?
• Car 400 000 l
• Jeans 11 000 l
• Hamburger 2 400 l
• Nappy 810 l
• Cup of coffee 140 l
• Apple 70 l
• Slice of bread 40 l
• Microchip 32 l

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• Problem !?
• Fabrication of dice accounts for use of hazardous
  chemicals (acid / base / radical).
• Granted, but
• all waste requiring special supervision is
  integrated in a closed loop of a controlled
  recycling process or will be supervised disposed
  (hopefully).

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• So, what should be done?
• Systems must be adapted to real needs (no
  overloading)!
• Thinking in middle / long term periods
• User friendly systems must be developed!
• Turnkey systems are desirable
• Machine intelligence should be increased
• Generation of Unique selling points will be
  essential

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• A big Chance
• Looking for small but important niches mainly
  based on interdisciplinary knowledge
• Making products more intelligent and sustainable

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• SMEs, Institutes, and universities may fulfill
  these criterions by
• Generation of realizable ideas for niche
  applications
• Building dynamic and living networks
• Enforcement long term of competitive capability

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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• How can we reach that goal?
• Encourage of new ideas (preferably) for
  realisation by implemting microtechnology and
  complemental technologies)?
• by working interdisciplinary, e.g. to complement
  one another
• by building faithful cooperations between SMEs,
  Institutes and Universities
• by teaching young people to think laterally and
  flexible in middle -, long - term dimensions
  using advanced technologies
• by having his feet firmly on the ground (not only
  looking for short term profit)

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Sustainability by Microtechnology
This explicitly is not meant when looking for
new ideas......
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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• Result
• Implementing microtechnology will help you to
  generate sustainable, well working products and
  ensures, that you will attract new business.

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Sustainability by Microtechnology
If we concentrate, we can move something we are
part of a gear system no one is independant from
each other otherwise it would be a camouflage...
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Sustainability by Microtechnology

• Thanks a lot for your
• patient attention
• Greetings from
• RFH Cologne
• University of Applied Sciences